


Not alone for Christmas

by Glitter_Latte (cats_and_coffee)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Klance Secret Santa 2016, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 00:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9048451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cats_and_coffee/pseuds/Glitter_Latte
Summary: Keith and Lance are in college, and both find themselves alone for Christmas.  While for Keith it's a normal thing, Lance has a harder time with it.  Thinking he's doing Keith a favor he invites him over.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just want to give a quick thank you to my editor who helped big time.
> 
> This is for the person I got in Klance Secret Santa 2016

                “So yeah, make yourself comfortable.”  Lance hardly ever felt awkward in his skin, but as he watched Keith shake off the cold alongside with his scarf, hat, and the thin jacket he wore Lance felt suddenly aware of all the weird angles his limbs were sitting.  He had contemplated calling and canceling a few times throughout the day, but every time he tried guilt sent in.  But Keith was here now.

                “So what first?”  Keith asked as he looked around.  Lance found himself trying not to stare as he made his way over but the slight wave of pink across Keith’s cheeks and nose was adorable.

                “Hold still.” Lance said reaching into his pocket.   Keith looked confused as he suddenly found a phone camera pointed at him, “t-to commemorate this occasion,” Lance explained as he stuttered and fumbled with his phone, “also to prove to everyone else that we are getting along.”

                “Okay?”  Keith shrugged and took a few steps further into Lance’s apartment, nearly brushing up against Lance.  He was close enough though that Lance could still feel the chill rolling off him.

                “You want some hot chocolate?”

                “Sure, I brought some movies that I typically watch on Christmas Eve.  Mind if I set them up?”

                “Sounds like a plan, my man.”  Lance really wished he had a redo on that sentence even before he finished saying.  Keith didn’t seem to notice and just sat down and started digging through his ratty old backpack.

                Lance left Keith and started working in the kitchen.  The first thing he grabbed was an old notebook.  It was where he kept his favorite recipes that he’d learned over the years alongside the recipes he’d learned from his mother.  He flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for, the best hot chocolate in existence.  He set to work, singing snippets of Christmas carols as they came to mind, wondering which ones his families were singing right now without him. 

                The quietness of his apartment had been getting to him.  Normally everything was chaos when his family got together, the small rustlings from Keith in the other room didn’t even compare.  After everyone arrived there never seem to be any room to move without bumping into at least one person and finding a quietish place to sit and snack was nearly impossible.  But even with it being so crowded it was always a happy and joyous time.  He laughed sadly to himself, wondering how much bigger all the little ones had gotten since he’d seen them last.            

                This year marked the first time in his life that he’d been unable to get home for the holidays.  Between college finals and his job not authorizing time off it just hadn’t worked out.  His parents told him it was okay and to focus on his studies.  They had promised to send all of his presents and as much good cheer as they could, but it just didn’t have the same vibrant energy that actually being there provided.  He stopped grumbling as he finished the hot chocolate and grabbed a bag of mini-marshmallows, putting on the best holiday smile he could muster for his guest.  His really cute guest.

                Hunk had made fun of him when he had heard the plan, doubting that he and Keith could get along without anyone else there.  Originally Hunk was going to stay and be with Lance, but Shay’s family invited him to join them.  Lance wasn’t going to hold the fact that Hunk had gone to spend the holidays with Shay and her family, especially not after Hunk had gone through the trouble of decorating the house so nicely, even if he had done it to impress his girlfriend.  The tree was decorated with strange and beautiful crystalline ornaments and the rest of the apartment was decked with garlands, poinsettias, mistletoe, candy canes, and statues of Santa.  Not to mention all the cookies that had been baked and set out on a decorative snowflake platter in the living room.

                Keith was curled on the end of the sofa when Lance walked into the living room.  He set the hot chocolate and marshmallows on the table between them as he sat down and got comfortable.  “So what Christmas special are we watching tonight?”

                “I brought ‘Lost Tapes’.”  Keith grinned as he dumped a pile of marshmallows into his hot chocolate.

                “’Lost tapes’?”

                “A series about cryptids with found footage styled ‘what if’ stories mixed in.”

                “Keith you do know its Christmas, and _NOT_ Halloween?” Lance tossed a marshmallow at Keith with a groan.

                “Yeah, but this is what I typically watch on the holidays.” Keith playfully lobbed a handful of marshmallows at Lance.

                “And your family puts up with it?”  Lance immediately regretted his choice of words as Keith’s face went blank right as the marshmallows he’d thrown bounced off.

                “Well,” he paused and shrugged, “being alone for the Holidays isn’t actually that uncommon for me, so…..” His voice trailed as he shifted away from Lance.

                “Sorry, I didn’t mean,” Lance stammered, “I mean I’m just used to having a large family around and…well, I guess what I’m trying to say is thanks for coming over.”  Lance looked embarrassed but Keith just waved it off as he took a sip from his mug. 

               “Mom’s recipe, what do you think?”  Lance asked, quickly changing the subject.

                “It’s good.” Keith gave Lance a small grin, but even then Lance could see he was still shivering a little.

                “Are you still cold?”

                “Yeah, but I’ll be fine.  I can handle the cold up until the point it starts to settle in my bones, then it’s nearly impossible to get out without like boiling myself.”  He laughed before taking a sip of his hot chocolate, trying to hide the chattering of his teeth.

                “Let me get you a blanket.”  Lance quickly grabbed a blanket from his room, made sure Keith was wrapped in it and set to cleaning up the marshmallows, “Go ahead and start your show.”

                “Are you really okay with this?  I know it’s not a Christmas special like you thought it was.”

                “What’s the first episode about?”

                “The ‘Chupacabra’, but it’s a pretty sad story. We could skip it for the second one with ‘Bigfoot’ instead?”

                “Nah, you go ahead and start it up.”

                It wasn’t exactly what he’d expected, Lance thought as he finished cleaning before taking a spot on the opposite end of the couch.  They watched in relative silence but after each episode Keith would scoot a little closer, wanting to talk theories and the idea of how one could survive such an encounter. Lance was hard-pressed to admit it but he actually found himself having fun and after a few more episodes Keith was practically sitting next to him.

                “Are you still cold?”  Lance looked over Keith.  The shirt he was wearing, while nice, also looked a little thin.  Even wrapped as he was in a thick blanket, Lance wondered if Keith was retaining any warmth at all.

                “A little, but I’ll be okay.  I’m actually warming up, I just tend to do it kind of slowly.”

                Lance bolted upright, “stay here.”  He climbed over the sofa as Keith watched him excitedly run into his bedroom.  From there came a sudden cacophony of crashes, thuds, and curses.

                “Lance?”  Keith slowly rose from his seat, concerned.

                The crashing stopped as Keith hesitantly made his way towards doorway, only to nearly fall over backwards as Lance all but jumped through the threshold.  A big cheesy grin was plastered across his face as he held up a knit sweater of eye stabbing greens and blues with a faded out silhouette of the Loch Ness Monster in the center of it.

                “Oh my god,” he said laughing and wide eyed, “Where did you get that from?”  His fingers traced the Nessie pattern while a slow, goofy grin split his face.

                “A while back I was going through a major marine biology phase and I think my Uncle got a few things confused so he ended up giving me this.  But you can totally have it if you want, like a Christmas present.”  Keith’s face twisted into horror, Lance felt his heart drop.  Had he done something wrong? 

                “But Lance I didn’t, I mean, I have nothing I can give you.”

                “Keith, just take the stupid sweater.”  Lance stifled a giggle, turning it into a cough as he thrust the gift towards Keith whose eyes lit up with delight.  He leaned against the door frame, watching and smiling as Keith struggled to pull on the gift.  Keith stretched and pulled and arched trying to get the sweater on as quickly as he could.  Despite it being roughly the size of a circus tent, Keith found himself stuck, tangled in a mess of sleeves and seemingly random holes.  

“Hold on, hold still.”  Lance laughed as he reached out to help Keith.  Keith, despite what he’d just been told, continued to struggle with the sweater.

                “Keith, stop squirming, wait- almost- stop!” A hand came flying out of the head hold and smacked Lance on the nose.  He stumbled away from the flailing Keith as his eyes watered from the blow. “Damn it,” he rubbed his nose.

                Lance watched through blurry eyes as Keith righted the sweater himself and finally pulled it over his head.  He looked at Lance, confusion spread across his face, “Are you okay- oh!”  Keith looked surprised.

                Lance was trying to figure out what had gotten his friend’s attention when noticed the blush crawling its way up Keith’s face.  It was adorable!  All Lance wanted to do was cup that face in his hands and share in that heat.  The fact that Keith was wearing something of Lance’s made it even more unbearable.  Keith’s face suddenly changed, surprise turned to determination as he gave quick nod to something Lance didn’t see.  Lance smiled and laughed good naturedly as Keith walked towards him with stiff gait.  Lance’s laughter trailed off as he felt a rising heat rise in his face and ears as Keith closed the gap between them. 

                “Keith?”

                “Just, hold still okay.”  His voice was barely above a whisper.  With a soft exhale from Keith, he looked up but kept his eyes closed while he raised himself to his tip toes.  His lips brushed tenderly against Lance’s.

                A terrible ache pressed through Lance’s entire body.  He wanted to pull Keith closer yet his arms hung limp. He watched wide eyed as Keith’s blushing face, so close and warm suddenly pulled away.

                “What.”  Lance felt his legs tremble.  It was all he could do not to let another grin cross his face.

                “Oh you-you did know you were standing under the um-” Keith pointed above Lance’s head.  Hunk’s mistletoe!  He’d hung it there, hoping to get a kiss from Shay.  In his rush to pack for the holidays he’d forgotten it.  It hung harmlessly from the ceiling, at least until Lance had stumbled beneath it..

                “Oh yeah! I- uh, so you want to get back to the show?”

                “Yeah?”  Keith’s smile was so bright, Lance felt so much warmer just looking at it.

                “Yeah, what’s this episode about?”

                “The ‘OKLAHOMA OCTOPUS’!”  Keith gave his best B horror movie trailer voice, Lance chuckled as he settled back in on the sofa, opening the blanket for Keith to sit next to him.   Keith hopped in without being asked twice, leaning into Lance.

                “Sounds perfect.”

                “I guess I could give you this season if you like.  As a Christmas present, I mean?”  Keith said a little sheepishly.

                “Nah, I’m good.” Lance said breathlessly as he leaned his head into Keith’s shoulder as the episodes started.


End file.
